Tianchu Gao is an IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.
On 聽July 18th, 2022, the world鈥檚 second-largest art auction house, 颁丑谤颈蝉迟颈别鈥檚, announced the establishment of , an investment fund that will support emerging tech companies whose products could have an impact on the art market. According to a representative, the fund is estimated to hold 鈥.鈥 Some may think that it is strange that an auction house would launch a venture fund, but it is not the first time that 颁丑谤颈蝉迟颈别鈥檚 has made a daring venture to embrace the latest technologies in its highly exclusive art businesses. The auction house was one of the first art institutions to arrange NFT sales. The March 2021 sale of digital artist Beeple鈥檚 work, , sold for a record-breaking price of 69.3 million. It even launched a two-day conference, , in July 2022, which brought in leaders from both industries to discuss the role and impact of technologies in the art world.
According to the global head of 颁丑谤颈蝉迟颈别鈥檚 Venture, Devang Thakkar, to solve the problems that have long bedeviled the art trade, such as authenticity disputes and safe digital asset transactions.
颁丑谤颈蝉迟颈别鈥檚 Ventures will focus on : 1) Web 3.0 innovations such as non-fungible tokens, cryptocurrencies, blockchains, etc.; 2) art-related financial products; and 3) technologies that enable seamless consumption of art.
颁丑谤颈蝉迟颈别鈥檚 Venture鈥檚 first investment supported a Canadian Web 3.0 company called . It provides a protocol that allows different blockchains to communicate and work together. The company had already raised CAD$ dollars in its first funding round earlier this year. It will work with 颁丑谤颈蝉迟颈别鈥檚 to 鈥渇ind new and innovative ways to create the most accessible, frictionless experience with assets indexed over multiple blockchains,鈥 says , LayerZero Labs co-founder.
It is worth noting that 颁丑谤颈蝉迟颈别鈥檚 advancement into the venture capital market happened in the context of the recent crash in crypto and the broader selloff in tech stocks. Traditional venture capital firms are pulling back from the risky bets on startups, and the funding for startups altogether fell in the second quarter compared to the first quarter. Many crypto startups are undergoing since June. In fact,聽聽from $93.2 million in 2021 to less than $5 million during the first half of this year.聽
Despite the economic downturn, 颁丑谤颈蝉迟颈别鈥檚 clearly believes in the increasingly prominent role of technology in the art market. In fact, the world鈥檚 largest auction house, Sotheby鈥檚, is also 鈥渁ctively investing in and acquiring early stage ventures,鈥 though not through a formal venture-capital arm, according to an article in 聽The . 颁丑谤颈蝉迟颈别鈥檚 move into the venture capital space challenges the traditional image of what an auction house can do.